Misplaced Responsibility
by Spidershadow5
Summary: As the Superhuman Civil War rages around them, Captain America desperately tries to convince a new hero that he's chosen the wrong side.
Captain Steve Rogers honestly thought this was one of the worst days of his life. Sure, he'd lived through World War II, listening to the constant chatter of gunfire, the pained screams of the wounded, and the never-ending explosions, watching friends fall and never stand again, but somehow, that didn't seem to be as bad as this. If he were forced to provide a reason, he could easily do so: The war hadn't been fought between friends who would've given up their lives for each other.

Explosions and gunshots reverberated throughout the ravaged airport as Avengers battled Avengers. Natasha had taken shelter behind an overturned car, shielding her from Clint's arrows. She emerged to fire at her former colleague, who dodged to the side, readying an arrow. She'd witnessed this particular tactic many times before, of course, and scurried away to escape the concussive projectile aimed towards her proximity, meant to injure but not kill. It was perhaps the first time Clint had missed on purpose. In the air above the dueling super humans, Rhodey and Sam were engaged in their own dogfight, swooping and weaving to avoid each other's gunfire, both desperately shooting to wound. Rhodes clearly had the advantage, as his thick armor protected him from the majority of the danger. However, Sam was holding his own, using his greater mobility to prevent Rhodes from getting a clear shot.

Bucky had his own hands full, tussling with T'Challa, desperately trying to keep him at bay with the sheer strength of his prosthetic. The Panther appeared to be winning, as his vibranium-laced battle suit blocked the brunt of the attacks thrown at him, and his claws left long marks in the Winter Soldier's metal arm. Still, Bucky showed no signs of stopping. In the distance, Wanda and Vision were dueling, burst of red and yellow energy cascading around them, hitting every bare inch of the environment, missing each of them by inches. Wanda twisted like an elegant ballerina, while Vision flew from spot to spot with the speed of a bullet. Neither was gaining any ground, but the pain in their expressions revealed they had no desire to do so, just as they had no desire to fight.

Tony had been fighting Steve a few minutes ago, but an arrow from Hawkeye forced him to back off. That deceptively dangerous arrow had been carrying a tiny passenger, namely Scott, who'd attempted to find a way inside Tony's armor. Though Iron Man had thrown the Ant-Man off, and was now targeting him with lock-on repulsor blasts, the insect-themed hero had escaped so far. He'd attempted to grow into a giant and smack Tony around, but that tactic had only created a much larger target, earning him a repulsor blast to the stomach.

Steve's thoughts were cut off as another blast of sticky white fibers (webs, he guessed) splattered all over his torso. Steve was yanked off his feet and pulled towards the waiting Spider-Man, who followed up with a spinning kick, sending Captain America flying back into a steel crate. The metal buckled beneath him, and Steve swore quietly as he felt a rib or two crack from the blow.

"You know," joked the costumed youngster (teenager, judging by his voice), "This is kind of a role reversal, if you think about it. I always thought you'd be the one trying to bring me in. Most likely for something I didn't do, but-"

Spider-Man was cut off by the spinning vibranium disk that came flying directly at him. He was able to easily jump over it, and his spider-sense kicked in, allowing him to duck the rebounding shield. However, Steve had anticipated this action, and Spider-Man was unable to dodge the punch directly into his gut that came at the same time, knocking the wind out of him. Steve's magnetic glove kicked in, bringing the shield back to his arm, and he swung it in an arc, slamming Spider-Man backwards. The red and blue-clad hero managed to roll away, assuming a crouched position about a dozen feet away from Captain America.

Pulling his arm back, Steve hurled his shield again, putting all of his strength behind it. Spider-Man jumped over it again, but snagged it with a length of web, pulling it into his grip. Landing on his feet, he rushed towards Captain America, attempting to punch him in the hip, while blocking any returning blows. Steve dodged, but his return blows seemed unable to get past the shield. In reality, he was merely drawing Spider-Man's attention long enough to sweep his leg around, knocking the wall-crawler off his feet. Grabbing his shield back, he bashed Spider-Man's face with it, before seizing his webbed head with both hands. Steve brought Spider-Man's head down to his knee with a painful cracking sound, before tossing Spider-Man away like a rag doll.

"Stay down, kid," Steve spat, clearly irritated, "You don't know what you're getting involved in."

"Believe me, I know," responded an angry Spider-Man, as he clambered to his feet and compressed his legs, "I'm doing my part to preserve Avenger credibility." With those words, he launched himself at Captain America, one fist pulled back. "And I'm getting extra credit towards my super hero thesis."

"Is that what you think?" asked Steve, raising his shield to intercept the blow, "Or is it just what Tony told you?" He struck out with a side kick, which was easily avoided by the web head. Spider-Man took the opportunity to send another web line directly into Captain America's chest, but it was severed by a quick swipe of the vibranium shield.

"Okay, I'll be honest here," said Spider-Man, throwing another punch, which was ducked under, "I don't like this. In fact, I hate it. You're the one a lot of us aspire to be, myself included. But we need the people in power behind us. I know that more than anybody." He caught Steve's follow-up punch with both hands, flipping the captain over his head and onto the ground. Steve landed with another painful crunch, but he managed to recover once again.

Rising to his feet, Steve decided to try a different tactic: logic. "Kid," he began, earnestly, "Please don't do this. I don't know who you are, but I know you're a good person. You keep up this whole saving people schtick, even though the media hates your guts and blames you every time a kitten gets stuck in a tree."

"Well, to be fair, it's only that guy at the Bugle," said Spider-Man, "Plus, I think he's envious of my snappy dressing style."

"This is serious!" snapped Steve, furious at his opponent's laid back, and frankly insulting, demeanor. Spider-Man actually stumbled back in shock. "You could be one of the best of us, but this is wrong. The Avengers need limits, yes, but this isn't accepting limits. This is allowing the government to put us on leashes and only let us off when the bureaucrats are done fighting over whether or not it's worth the money to save people's lives! When something is right, you get in and you do it and you worry about the consequences when you have the time!"

Spider-Man seemed to struggle to respond. "Wh-what would you have me do?" he got out.

Steve, calm once more, held out one gloved hand, a gesture of peace. "Denounce the Accords. Help us fight them. Show people that we can be heroes without having to be government attack dogs."

Behind the mask, Peter Parker thought back to the day he'd watched Uncle Ben die, remembering the lesson he'd learned: With great power, comes great responsibility. He was responsible for protecting people from things they couldn't stop themselves, just like the Avengers would. Yet here he was, fighting Captain America, one of the greatest heroes of all time. How was that upholding his oath? Was he betraying everything Cap stood for? Was he truly doing the wrong thing?

But as soon as he finished that thought, he remembered how Iron Man had come to him, asking for his help in supporting the Accords. When he'd learned Peter's identity, he'd taken Peter under his wing, opening up a world of science Peter had always wanted to see. He knew Spider-Man would make a perfect Avenger, especially since it would improve his credibility and maybe get Jameson off his back. Didn't Peter owe it to him to continue fighting? Wasn't Iron Man a good person, who'd devoted his entire life to making up for the mistakes he'd made as an arms dealer? He'd promised to help Stark win this war, and keeping a promise was a responsibility, even if that meant taking down Captain America.

"I...I'm sorry, Cap," said Spider-Man, the regret fully audible in his voice, "I...I can't..." He weakly raised his fists.

Steve sighed, grief filling his heart, rather than disappointment. "Then let's get this over with." With that, he charged forward, shield raised.

* * *

 **Inspired by the new trailer. Probably not accurate to the movie, but who cares? Also, I may be biased towards Team Cap. I hope that doesn't show too much.  
**


End file.
